May 10, 2012 Lincoln, Nebraska - [Rajmund Dabrowski/CRN] An anticipated English-language audio version of the recently published book The Great Hope by Ellen G. White is being released by Christian Record Services for the Blind.

The book is an abridged edition of White’s classic, The Great Controversy. Its digital audio release is part of a cooperative effort by the ministries of the Seventh-day Adventist Church to distribute the book worldwide. It is anticipated that 170 million copies of the book will be distributed around the globe this year.

The audio version of The Great Hope has been produced in the studios of Christian Record, a Lincoln, Nebraska-based Adventist ministry providing audio books and other reading services for the blind. The audio version of The Great Hope is narrated by Michael Paradise, the young adult pastor of the College View Church, and Lisa Forbes, an associate professor at Union College, both from Lincoln. The audio book will be available for free download from www.sharethegreathope.com.

In print The Great Hope is a 94-page volume with 11 chapters, and is Christian Record’s latest digital audio book. It will be available for a free of charge downloading by the blind and visually challenged individuals at www.christianrecord.org. The current audio library lists 1,700 titles on digital cartridges and audiocassettes. Christian Record is in the process of digitizing all of its audio books. Many Christian Record library clients are already using the state-of-the-art digital player newly developed and distributed by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, a branch of the U.S. Library of Congress.

“This new volume was important to be included in our lending library. Above all, it reflects our interest to join the worldwide initiative of the Seventh-day Adventist Church of which our organization is a part,” said Larry Pitcher, Christian Record’s president.

“We desired to offer this recording as a contribution to the church’s effort to share The Great Hope as an engaging presentation of God’s love and His ultimate victory in the conflict between good and evil,” Pitcher added.

According to J. Alfred Johnson II, coordinator of the Share Great Hope program in the North American region of the Adventist Church, “we aim to engage in a relational distribution of The Great Hope, anticipating that our church members will become familiar with its content and share it with their family members, friends and neighbors - all who may have interest in spiritual themes.”

“Audio books are very popular today,” Johnson added. “This audio version of the inspiring Ellen G. White classic will be a valued addition to our inspirational audio book libraries with its mp3 version,” Johnson added.